Scottish Executive

Apprenticeships

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why it will require an additional £25 million for Scottish Enterprise to increase the number of modern apprenticeships (MAs) to over 25,000 given that the number of MA’s in 2001-02 was 21,993.

Iain Gray: The additional resources for modern apprenticeships are being phased in over three years, allowing the total number of apprentices in training at any time to grow to over 25,000 by 2006. Over this period, the number of individuals employed and trained as modern apprentices will thus far exceed 25,000. The additional resources for the Enterprise Network will also be used in other ways to increase the number of people in employment undertaking training. Agreed targets will be published in the Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise annual Operating Plans.

Cancer

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest technologies available for the treatment of cancer are and how much it plans to invest in these technologies in each year to 2005-06.

Malcolm Chisholm: At any time there are a variety of potentially new technologies for the treatment of cancer being researched or undergoing clinical trials throughout the world. These may include novel gene therapy, new equipment or more sophisticated forms of existing equipment, new drugs or other interventions.

  The Health Technology Board for Scotland is responsible for providing evidence-based advice to NHSScotland on the clinical and cost effectiveness of new and existing health technologies (medicines, devices, clinical procedures and health care settings).

Care of Elderly People

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will increase the amount of funding allocated to free personal care in the light of the prediction in the General Registrar for Scotland Annual Report 2000 that by 2006 the population aged over 65 will have increased by 30,000 since 1998.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Care Development Group acknowledged that the cost of the policy would be affected by changes in demography and specific account has been taken of this in allocating resources.

Care of Elderly People

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that those who currently have unmet need for free personal care are identified and receive the services they need.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Spending Review 2002 settlement reflects the Care Development Group's costing assumptions for free personal care. These assumptions estimated an increase in demand from unmet need and a shift from informal to formal care of approximately 12% building up over the first two years of the policy to 2004-05. Within that framework, identification of individuals in need of care is a matter for local authorities. The Scottish Executive has provided the necessary resources.

Children's Panels

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to participate on children’s panels have been rejected since the inception of the recruitment campaign.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have applied to serve on children’s panels, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) local authority area, since the inception of its recruitment campaign.

Cathy Jamieson: The first four weeks of the campaign attracted 3,458 notes of interest. The details have been passed to the local authorities responsible for sifting and assessing applications arising out of these notes of interest. Children’s Panel Advisory Committees will submit recommendations to Scottish ministers later in the year on who should be appointed as members of their children’s panel. No recommendations have yet been received by Scottish ministers. The tables set out the position on gender and age of those expressing interest by local authority area.

  Table 1: Gender

  


Local Authority 
  

Male 
  

Female 
  

Total 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

17 
  

72 
  

103 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

12 
  

75 
  

99 
  



Angus 
  

9 
  

31 
  

47 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

3 
  

28 
  

40 
  



Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar 
  

1 
  

2 
  

3 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

4 
  

57 
  

61 
  



Dundee 
  

24 
  

82 
  

106 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

15 
  

62 
  

77 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

15 
  

57 
  

72 
  



East Lothian 
  

16 
  

33 
  

49 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

13 
  

40 
  

53 
  



Edinburgh 
  

95 
  

264 
  

359 
  



Fife 
  

39 
  

148 
  

187 
  



Glasgow 
  

93 
  

352 
  

445 
  



Highland 
  

28 
  

61 
  

89 
  



Inverclyde 
  

9 
  

32 
  

41 
  



Joint CPAC 
  

44 
  

191 
  

235 
  



Midlothian 
  

13 
  

37 
  

50 
  



Moray 
  

10 
  

21 
  

31 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

35 
  

137 
  

172 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

77 
  

219 
  

296 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

18 
  

94 
  

112 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

35 
  

87 
  

122 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

12 
  

23 
  

35 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

1 
  

7 
  

8 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

18 
  

73 
  

91 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

62 
  

215 
  

277 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

7 
  

76 
  

83 
  



West Lothian 
  

36 
  

127 
  

163 
  



Total 
  

761 
  

2,697 
  

3,458 
  



  Table 2: Age Profile of National Recruitment Campaign

  

 

18-30 
  

31-40 
  

41-50 
  

51-59 
  

60+ 
  

Total 
  



Responses 
  

934 
  

1,237 
  

808 
  

364 
  

115 
  

3,458

Children's Panels

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the children’s panel recruitment campaign cost in total, detailing the amount spent on (a) advertising, (b) literature and (c) staffing.

Cathy Jamieson: The cost to date to the Scottish Executive of the children’s panel national recruitment campaign is £395,000. £385,000 is for development, artwork and advertising costs   and £10,000 for publication of literature. There are no discrete costs for staffing. Sifting and assessment of applications by Children’s Panel Advisory Committees involves the volunteers on the committees with input from local authority staff. A separate budget meets the cost of the handling agency fee which is based on response levels. Local authorities meet the costs of any local advertising to augment the national campaign.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28007 by Mr Andy Kerr on 27 August 2002, what monitoring is carried out of the information on the percentage of candidates for senior civil service posts in the (a) Scottish Office and (b) Scottish Administration that were (i) women, (ii) from ethnic minorities and (iii) disabled.

Mr Andy Kerr: Prior to this year each competition, while in progress, was monitored in relation to applications from women, ethnic minorities and disabled people. A database has now been established which has held this information centrally since April 2002.

Civil Servants

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reports have been made of offers of employment under paragraph 13, section 4.3, Annex A, (b) reports have been made of offers of employment under paragraph 14, section 4.3, Annex A and (c) applications have been made under paragraph 15, section 4.3, Annex A of the Civil Service Management Code in each of the last five years, broken down by department or agency.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is set out in the following tables:

  1997-98

  


Department/Agency 
  

Number of Cases 
  

Conditions 
  

Referred to Prime Minister 
  



Central Services 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Environment and Rural Affairs Department 
  

2 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Development Department 
  

3 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Home Department 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Justice Department 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Scottish Records Office 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  1998-99

  


Department/Agency 
  

Number of Cases 
  

Conditions 
  

Referred to Prime Minister 
  



Development Department 
  

3 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Central Services 
  

2 
  

1 
  

2 
  



Locate in Scotland 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Environment and Rural Affairs Department 
  

6 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  1999-2000

  


Department/Agency 
  

Number of Cases 
  

Conditions 
  

Referred to Prime Minister 
  



Central Services 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Common service Agency 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Director of Roads 
  

1 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Education and Industry Department 
  

3 
  

2 
  

2 
  



Development Department 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Historic Scotland 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  2000-01

  


Department/Agency 
  

Number of Cases 
  

Conditions 
  

Referred to Prime Minister 
  



Development Department 
  

4 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Environment and Rural Affairs Department 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Health Department 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Justice Department 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Central Services 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



FCSD 
  

1 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Business Development Unit 
  

1 
  

- 
  

-

Community Safety

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Police Federation was consulted about the plans for neighbourhood wardens announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many chief constables were consulted about the plans for neighbourhood wardens announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: Neighbourhood wardens have been discussed at meetings between the Scottish Executive and representative bodies of police officers.

Community Safety

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the neighbourhood wardens announced in its press release SESJ055/2002 will sharpen the attack on poverty.

Ms Margaret Curran: By developing more effective responses to crime, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour and by promoting environmental justice, we will make neighbourhoods safer and more attractive places to live.

Community Safety

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28331 by Mr Jim Wallace on 9 September 2002, under what circumstances the local authority would be the appropriate agency for a neighbourhood warden to report to and under what circumstances the police would fulfil this role.

Ms Margaret Curran: Details of neighbourhood warden schemes are still to be developed.

Community Safety

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation will be introduced to govern the neighbourhood wardens announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: New legislation is not required to govern neighbourhood wardens.

Community Safety

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the neighbourhood wardens, announced in its press release SESJ055/2002, will become a network and whether the network will be nationwide.

Ms Margaret Curran: We intend that neighbourhood wardens operate across Scotland but the shape of the schemes will vary depending on the needs and priorities of individual communities.

Dental Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the £36 million it plans to allocate to the modernisation and improvement of general practitioner and dental facilities as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys will be distributed in a lump sum of over £5 million for any capital building work, or as more than £1 million over four years for any IT improvements.

Malcolm Chisholm: The detailed deployment of the resources identified for the modernisation and improvement of general practitioner and dental facilities has yet to be determined.

Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for nursery education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for primary education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services will have for secondary education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations on trade in services will limit its ability to bring forward legislation affecting education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect nursery education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect primary education.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands to be the definition of "liberalisation" under the General Agreement on Trade in Services proposals on trade in services as it will affect secondary education.

Cathy Jamieson: The regulation of international trade is a reserved matter. However, the Executive continues to be in regular contact with the Department of Trade and Industry and other UK Government Departments on trade issues and how these may impact on the Executive’s responsibilities.

  The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) applies to measures affecting trade in services taken by central, regional or local governments and authorities, and by non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by such governments and authorities. Progressive liberalisation under the GATS concerns the reduction or elimination of the adverse effects on trade in services of such measures as a means of providing effective market access for foreign service suppliers. Requests for liberalisation by World Trade Organisation (WTO) members do not seek the privatisation of state-supplied public services.

  The GATS makes clear that liberalisation shall take place, if at all, with due respect for national policy objectives, and recognises the right of WTO member governments to regulate, and to introduce new regulations, on the supply of service within their territories in order to meet national policy objectives. The GATS does not therefore impact on the Executive’s ability to bring forward legislation affecting education.

Enterprise

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why the spending of Highland and Islands Enterprise is to rise by 6% in 2003-04 given the savings expected as a result of the business improvement process it is engaged in, as referred to in Building a Better Scotland – Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys .

Iain Gray: The spending of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for 2003-04 was originally planned to increase from £74 million to £77 million as published in the Scottish Executive's Annual Expenditure Report, The Scottish Budget, 2003-04 . Since then, all non-departmental public bodies’ budgets have been converted from a cash to a resource basis. Resource budgets are published in Building a Better Scotland .

  The increase in 2003-04 comprises the original £3 million (in cash terms), plus approximately £2 million more in that year to reflect resource budget adjustments between 2002-03 and 2003-04. Finally, the balance of the increase for 2003-04 is an additional £0.5 million which HIE were allocated in the Spending Review for Modern Apprenticeships. This gives £6 million (rounded) as the total increase.

European Union

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it had any representative at the informal meeting of the Council of the European Union on Justice and Home Affairs held on 13 to 14 September 2002.

Mr Jim Wallace: There was no representative from the Scottish Executive at the informal meeting of the Council of the European Union on Justice and Home Affairs on 13 and 14 September. Negotiations within the European Union are conducted by the UK Government, taking due account of the views of the devolved administrations. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide variety of EU-related issues, including those that were discussed on 13 to 14 September.

European Union

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will have any representative at the informal Council of the European Union on Justice and Home Affairs on 14 to 15 March 2003.

Mr Jim Wallace: No decisions have yet been taken either on agenda or on attendance at the informal Council of the European Union on Justice and Home Affairs on 14 to 15 March 2003. Negotiations within the European Union are conducted by the UK Government, taking due account of the views of the devolved administrations. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide variety of EU-related issues and is represented as necessary at meetings in Brussels, whether at working groups of officials or Councils at ministerial level.

European Year of Disabled People

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29089 by Ms Margaret Curran on 20 September 2002, when the European Year of Disabled People 2003 Scottish steering group was set up; who the members are; how the members were selected, and when the group will announce its proposals to celebrate the European Year of Disabled People.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Steering Group for the European Year of Disabled People met for the first time in June 2002.

  Its members were selected by the Scottish Executive and are drawn from national organisations with an interest or involvement in disability policy development, including disability-led organisations, service providers and others. Members include the Disability Rights Commission, Inclusion Scotland, the Scottish Disability Equality Forum, the Scottish Human Services Trust, members of the Disability Agenda Group, the Scottish Council on Deafness, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and the STUC. Only national organisations were asked to participate and we looked to ensure that we covered a broad range of impairment groups and to ensure that disabled people themselves were involved. However, the steering group at its first meeting agreed that it would look to involve other organisations and interests as necessary.

  Proposals to celebrate the European Year of Disabled People are being developed and will be announced early in 2003.

Firearms

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28356 by Mr Jim Wallace on 9 September 2002, what representations it has made to the Firearms Consultative Committee with regard to the regulation of air weapons.

Mr Jim Wallace: In January 2002 an order was placed before the UK Parliament extending the remit of the Firearms Consultative Committee for a further two years. The reconstituted committee has not yet met, so has still to conduct any business and its forward work programme has yet to be determined.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the increased health budget to 2005-06 announced by the Minister for Finance and Public Services on 12 September 2002 will be (a) given to NHS institutions and (b) provided for initiatives outwith NHS institutions such as increasing physical activity, or reducing food-borne illness.

Malcolm Chisholm: Detailed decisions have not yet been made on the distribution of the health budget announced on 12 September.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out or commissioned to compare Scotland’s health provision with European levels over the next three years and whether it will publish any such research.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive do not currently have plans to commission research of this nature. A study to compare health care systems in the United Kingdom with seven other countries (mostly European) was commissioned by HM Treasury and published in April 2002. The report, Health care systems in eight countries: trends and challenges , is available at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk .

  An independent review by Derek Wanless was undertaken to assess the long-term resource requirements for the NHS in the United Kingdom. The report, Securing our Future Health: Taking a long-term view, was also published in April 2002 and is available at the above web address.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has contributed financially to adopting medical advances since 1999-2000; whether it will give examples of instances where any such advances were most beneficial to the extent that they are now used or have been put in place by every NHS board, and how much funding it will allocate to the future adoption of medical advances in each year to 2005-06.

Malcolm Chisholm: The national clinical effectiveness organisations, for example the Health Technology Board Scotland, the Scottish Inter-Collegiate Guidelines Network and the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, are funded to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies and develop evidence-based clinical guidelines and standards. NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from these organisations so that effective medical advances are quickly adopted as mainstream practice across Scotland.

  NHS boards are expected to allocate their funds so as to meet national and local priorities, including taking account of clinical advances where relevant. NHS boards’ allocations for future years will be announced around the turn of the year, and we expect those to be sufficient to meet pay and price increases and clinical advances.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to provide new drugs where clinically appropriate as stated in the health and community care section of  Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys .

Malcolm Chisholm: Substantial additional resources are being made available to the NHS in Scotland over the years of the spending review as announced on 12 September 2002, with an average annual increase of 8.7% over the years 2003-04 to 2005-06 rising to £8.6 billion a year by the end of the period. Within these substantially increased resources, NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that patients residing in their areas have access to clinically appropriate treatment, including new drug treatments. At Scottish level, the Health Technology Board for Scotland reviews new drug treatments and provides guidance on their use. NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from the HTBS and ensure that recommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need. At local level, Area Drug and Therapeutic Committees are responsible for giving advice to clinicians and for ensuring consistent application of national and local guidelines.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what building and information technology (IT) projects currently under development are likely to benefit from the investment of at least £750 million referred to in the health and community care section of  Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys ; which of these building projects are likely to cost under £5 million, and which of these IT projects are likely to cost under £1 million, over the period to 2005-06.

Malcolm Chisholm: Following the changes introduced to the Capital Planning and Approval processes in April this year, it is anticipated that the majority of the £750 million will be allocated directly to NHS boards to undertake those improvements already under way or planned as part of the board’s Capital Investment Programme.

  Those building projects currently under development include the provision of appropriate facilities for mental health; ambulatory care and diagnostic facilities; reconfiguration of services arising from completed or on-going acute services reviews; improved primary care and community hospital facilities, and investment in and the upgrading of medical equipment.

  IT projects costing under £1 million are managed under delegated authority by the NHS boards and trusts. Projects managed by NHS boards and trusts costing over £1 million are subject to business case approval by the Health Department. These projects are likely to include the development of electronic integrated care records and systems supporting accident and emergency and ambulatory care and diagnostic services. Such investments will be directed in line with the national Information Management and Technology (IM&T) strategy and the health board IM&T Action Plans currently under development.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the money allocated to health announced by the Minister for Finance and Public Services on 12 September 2002 will be allocated to other portfolios under health improvement initiatives.

Malcolm Chisholm: Building a Better Scotland indicated additional resources of £23, £50 and £100 million towards health improvement initiatives. £18, £44 and £61 million of this has been allocated to portfolios other than health but for clarity has not been included in the health portfolio allocation.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gave to increased demand on NHS services and constraints on the time of NHS staff and on the availability of space within NHS out-patient departments in reaching its target that no patient should wait longer than six months for a new out-patient appointment by 2006 as stated in target 7 of the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys , and whether it will publish details of such consideration.

Malcolm Chisholm: In setting the new national maximum waiting time target of six months for a first out-patient appointment, we have taken account of record levels of investment in the NHS which will enable more resources to be deployed to meet growth in demand, for example by increasing numbers of consultants and nurses and making substantial investment in buildings and IT equipment. Moreover, the Centre for Change and Innovation will support and facilitate new and innovative ways of working. The Executive believes that NHS boards and trusts will meet the new target by 2006 and that the people of Scotland will welcome this commitment to reducing out-patient waits.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest technologies available for the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) are and how much it plans to invest in these technologies in each year to 2005-06.

Malcolm Chisholm: The treatment of coronary heart disease is a continuously advancing field. Our Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke Strategy, which we will publish shortly, will set out arrangements designed to make sure that people in Scotland who suffer from CHD can benefit at as early a stage as possible from those advances.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest technologies available for the treatment of strokes are and how much it plans to invest in these technologies in each year to 2005-06.

Malcolm Chisholm: Stroke medicine is a continuously advancing field. Our Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke Strategy, which we will publish shortly, will set out arrangements designed to make sure that people in Scotland who have had a stroke can benefit at as early a stage as possible from those advances.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a hospital case can be treated other than as in-patient, day case or out-patient.

Malcolm Chisholm: The terms in-patient, day case and out-patient denote the type and level of resource used to treat a patient during a particular contact with hospital services. These terms are formally defined by ISD Scotland in its Definitions and Codes manual, which can be accessed at the following web address. Other defined terms include day patients, ward attenders, accident and emergency attenders and nurse only clinic attendances.

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/isd_services/NHSiS_services/National_data_standards/defsmanual.htm.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what future incentives it intends to provide to the NHS workforce in order to meet its commitment in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland – Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys to train 10,000 nurses and midwives and increase the total number of NHS consultants by 600 and how much funding it will allocate to providing any such incentives.

Malcolm Chisholm: Record sums are being invested in the NHS by the Scottish Executive so that we can revitalise services for patients everywhere. As part of our detailed plans for workforce development, we are working at local, regional and national levels to provide attractive career opportunities for staff at all levels.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it estimates that each community place for people leaving hospital will cost £20,000, given that it will provide £20 million each year to 2005-06 to provide 1,000 such community places as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys , and what plans it has to help these people and ensure that their discharge from hospital is not delayed.

Mr Frank McAveety: This investment will enable 1,000 additional people to move from hospital into more appropriate community-based settings at varying costs. It will also allow local authority and NHS board partnerships to put in place a variety of other measures to tackle delayed discharge, including admissions avoidance and rapid response.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it will provide to ensure that the roll-out of NHS 24 across the country, as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys ,   does not cause any shortages within the NHS nursing workforce.

Malcolm Chisholm: The detailed allocations of the health budget, including NHS 24’s, will be published in the draft budget document towards the end of October. NHS 24's funding will facilitate the national rollout of this new NHS service over the next two years. NHS 24 is working very closely with NHSScotland to maximise nursing resource and minimise impact on local NHS services.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it intends to fund to improve the recruitment and retention of NHS frontline staff as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys ; how much these measures are likely to cost, and by how much it estimates the NHS frontline workforce will improve as a result of these measures.

Malcolm Chisholm: Record sums are being invested in the NHS by the Scottish Executive so that we can revitalise services for patients everywhere. As part of our action on workforce development we are encouraging innovative multi-professional teamworking. We are working at local, regional and national levels to provide attractive career opportunities for staff at all levels and in all specialities.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial rewards it will provide to nurses who are willing to take on wider roles as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys ; what incentives it will provide to doctors to focus on where their skills are needed in the NHS where the specialities involved are not considered as interesting or as popular as others, and what level of funding it will provide to achieve these commitments.

Malcolm Chisholm: Record sums are being invested in the NHS by the Scottish Executive so that we can revitalise services for patients everywhere. As part of our action on workforce development we are encouraging innovative multi-professional teamworking, and seeking to reward staff appropriately to the level of responsibility carried. We are working at local, regional and national levels to provide attractive career opportunities for staff at all levels and in all specialities.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive by what percentage it will reduce food-borne illness in Scotland as part of the UK 20% reduction target by 2006 as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys and what funding it will allocate in each year to 2005-06 to achieve this target.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Food Standards Agency have advised me that they are committed to reducing food-borne illness in Scotland by at least 20%, by 2006.

  The funding allocated to reduce food-borne illness across the spending review period is:

  


2003-04 
  

£1.4 million 
  



2004-05 
  

£4.1 million 
  



2005-06 
  

£3.9 million

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to address the funding gap in the Glasgow housing stock transfer proposal as reported in The Herald on September 2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive does not normally take action on the basis of newspaper reports.

Mental Health

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28951 by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 September 2002, for what specific reasons the applications for funding from Facilitate (Scotland) were unsuccessful.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why Facilitate (Scotland) was refused funding under section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has already explained to Facilitate (Scotland) why their grant applications were unsuccessful.

Mental Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest technologies available for the treatment of mental illness are and how much it plans to invest in these technologies in each year to 2005-06.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Health Technology Board for Scotland provides timely advice on the clinical and cost effectiveness of the broad range of existing and new health technologies to NHSScotland, including most recently for mental health on:

  the prescription of anti-cholinesterases to people with Alzheimer’s Disease, and

  the prescription of atypical anti-psychotics to people with schizophrenia.

  NHS Scotland and their care partners will also continue to invest in treatments, approaches, services, support and other interventions that aim not only to treat but also to prevent or reduce the incidence and individual severity of mental illness in Scotland.

  In terms of investment, over £600 million spent last year alone offers a clear signal of the priority we attach to and our national programme to improve mental health and well-being further signals our intent to maintain this profile.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what voluntary organisations which offer the same services in Glasgow as those provided by Facilitate (Scotland) are funded through (a) section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, (b) section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 and (c) core funding.

Malcolm Chisholm: The grant schemes under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 support a number of voluntary organisations, which provide support for people with mental health problems in Scotland, including the Glasgow area. Each organisation provides its own particular service and will differ in some respects from others in the field.

  Core funding is awarded through the section 10 and section 16b schemes and contributes towards the administration costs of the organisation.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it did not award core funding to Facilitate (Scotland).

Malcolm Chisholm: Core funding can be awarded under section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 and section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. Facilitate (Scotland) have been given feedback as to why their applications under these two schemes have been unsuccessful.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources and services are available in each NHS board area to treat those diagnosed with a mental illness who are at crisis point.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not readily available. Each NHS board is responsible for assessing the health care needs of its population and for putting in place arrangements to meet these needs. These arrangements may include sharing treatment and other facilities and services with partner agencies and neighbouring NHS board areas.

  Mental health is, along with cancer and heart disease, one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. NHS boards provide resources for mental health services from within their general financial allocation. These are growing at an average annual rate exceeding 7% in cash terms.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently diagnosed with depression, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender.

Malcolm Chisholm: The available figures for depression are based on those from a sample of GP practices for the year ending December 2001.

  Estimated Number of Patients Seen for Depression, Year Ending 31 December 2001

  


Age Group (years) 
  

Males 
  

Females 
  



0-14 
  

350 
  

750 
  



15-24 
  

8,200 
  

22,800 
  



25-44 
  

31,400 
  

84,150 
  



45-64 
  

24,400 
  

54,200 
  



65-74 
  

4,900 
  

13,150 
  



75-84 
  

2,750 
  

8,250 
  



85 and over 
  

650 
  

2,450 
  



  Source: GP Consultations: Continuous Morbidity Recording Database (CMR), based on submissions from a sample of 60 GP practices in Scotland from which national estimates are derived.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what data is available to determine the causes of depression, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender.

Malcolm Chisholm: Accurate data on the cause of depression in each case is not collected routinely.

  Addressing cause is important and our National Programme for the Improvement of Mental Health and Well-being and the available treatment services are designed to help prevent as well as treat the condition.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any link between the number of females aged between 25 and 44 diagnosed with depression and the incidence of post-natal depression and whether it has directly funded, or is aware of, any research project into this issue.

Malcolm Chisholm: The 2002 review of latest evidence by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network determined that 10 to 15% of women in Scotland who give birth can suffer from post-natal depression. Depression as a separate condition can affect a large proportion of women of childbearing age, though studies are evenly divided in reporting one condition more or less severe than the other. There is, however, some evidence that there is an increased risk of depression occurring in the early postnatal period.

  The care objective is to apply proper screening and follow up that identifies and responds to all assessed needs in each case.

  The Scottish Executive has not funded any research on the incidence of post-natal depression. Details of recent and current research on post-natal depression can be found in the National Research Register, which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each NHS board area have been prescribed the new atypical anti-psychotic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available. Available data relates to the number of prescribed items dispensed by either community pharmacists or dispensing doctors and are not patient specific.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any additional funding has been made available to NHS boards for the prescribing of the new atypical anti-psychotic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Malcolm Chisholm: Substantial additional resources are being made available to the NHS in Scotland over the years of the spending review as announced on 12 September 2002, with an average annual increase of 8.7% over the years 2003-04 to 2005-06 rising to £8.6 billion a year by the end of the period. Within these substantially increased resources, NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that patients residing in their areas have access to clinically appropriate treatment, including new drug treatments such as the new atypical anti-psychotic drugs. At national level, the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) reviews new drug treatments and provides guidance on their use. NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from the HTBS and ensure that recommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need. At local level, Area Drug and Therapeutic Committees are responsible for giving advice to clinicians and for ensuring consistent application of national and local guidelines.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the care and treatment of young people with mental health problems in young offender institutions.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  All prisoners suffering from mental health problems are cared for by a multi-disciplinary health care team.

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5476 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 September 2002, whether it has undertaken any other assessments of Scottish National Party policies.

Mr Andy Kerr: Officials routinely consider proposals relating to economic development policy from a variety of external bodies and commentators, including those from other political parties.

Racism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the measures announced in its press release SESJ055/2002 will combat prejudice.

Ms Margaret Curran: These measures will tackle poverty, inequality, and unemployment in many of the most deprived communities in Scotland.

  Whilst the reasons behind prejudiced behaviours and attitudes are complex and diverse, we know that they all too often manifest themselves in these deprived communities. By taking positive steps towards achieving our goals of social justice and equality of opportunity for all, we hope to break the vicious circle of inequality and prejudice.

  Furthermore, we take our duties under the Race Relations Amendment Act very seriously, and these measures will be implemented with due regard to the promotion of race equality, the elimination of unlawful discrimination and the promotion of good race relations.

Rail Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has issued to the Strategic Rail Authority about a high-speed, non-stop, direct, early (a) morning and (b) evening service between Edinburgh and London on the east coast main line; what the estimated journey time of such a service would be (i) currently and (ii) following upgrading and repair, and, if it has not issued any such advice, whether it has any plans to do so.

Lewis Macdonald: No advice has been given to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) about such a service between Edinburgh and London, nor are there any plans to do so.

  Journeys from Edinburgh to London currently take around four and a half hours. The SRA indicate that there is potential for track improvements on the east coast main line which, if implemented, could lead to a saving of around 30 minutes on journey time.

Relationship Counselling

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to support couple counselling services.

Mr Jim Wallace: Couple Counselling Scotland and Scottish Marriage Care receive funding from the Scottish Executive Justice Department under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. A total of almost £339,000 will be made in grant payments to these organisations in 2002-03. Local couple counselling services, affiliated to Couple Counselling Scotland or Scottish Marriage Care, are independent and funding is a matter for them. Some financial support comes from local authorities who make local funding decisions in the light of competing priorities.

Roads

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money was spent on publishing, printing and distributing its publication,  Public report on the first year of the new trunk road operating companies 2001/2002 .

Lewis Macdonald: The Public report on the first year of the new trunk road operating companies 2001/2002 was published by the independent Performance Audit Group (Halcrow in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers) in line with the recommendations of the Auditor General for Scotland.

  The estimated cost to the public purse is £12,500.

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the policy and financial management review of the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA).

Cathy Jamieson: Copies of report into a review of the work, policies and structures of the administration are being laid in the Parliament today. The review was the first for SCRA under the five-yearly examinations of non-domestic public bodies (NDPBs). The report concluded that despite the recognised resource pressures from SCRA’s inception and an increase in referrals, SCRA has established a core organisation which is sound in structure and process. The report identified various areas for improvement and these are detailed in the recommendations which affect both SCRA and the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive accepts all the recommendations which have the potential to improve outcomes from the hearings system. The Scottish Budget announced increases in resources to the hearings system to enable these recommendations to be taken forward.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the staff resources available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for the monitoring and enforcement of environmental standards.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29496 on 25 September 2002, in which new resources of £11.2 million were announced for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for the period 2003-04 to 2005-06. It is for SEPA to decide what proportion of the additional funding is to be devoted to increasing staff resources. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Social Justice

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the social justice annual report 2002 and how the milestones, indicators and baselines will vary from the 2001 report.

Ms Margaret Curran: The social justice annual report 2002 will be published by the end of the year. There will be no changes to the milestones and baselines. There will be some additions to some of the indicators, for example new gender analysis, which will be detailed in the technical report.